“We did have plenty to hash out, but I was basically cock blocked by Quickshot every step of the way. Sadly, I didn’t even want more cock anyway, the things we needed to work out seemed a bit more important. I was conversation blocked!”
“Well, you can always call and invite him to your place for conversation, or cock, whatever. I don’t think I’ll need you for anything for a while. Keys has a lot of work to do first.” Legs offered.
“Yeah, I would do that, but we didn’t get to the awkward morning after exchange of phone numbers, because again – conversation blocked.”
Keys sighed deeply while her fingers flew frantically over her cell phone. No doubt she was relaying everything to her man. That made me angry. “I’m going home, and unless Legs needs my help, I don’t want to be disturbed. Not by anyone.” I looked pointed in Keys’ direction. We’d never had a fight before so this was strange and disheartening for me.
She snorted, then started to speak up, but I cut her off. “No. You especially. It’s obvious where your loyalty lies now, and it sure as shit isn’t with the women of your club. The fact that you even tried to take up for him knowing what was at stake for me, Gah! That said it all. Thanks for your unwavering support though.” The sarcasm hung heavily in the air between us as I surveyed the stunned faces in the room. I was right. I didn’t bother waiting for anyone else to butt in to my drama. I took off out the door and hopped onto my Harley Sportster 1200. I had hoped to get my baby in for the paint job I had planned, but with everything going on, I had to wait. I slicked my hand over the tank, giving a silent promise to my bike that I would take care of her soon. I got her started, walked her back until I could maneuver safely past the other bikes in the lot, and I took off.
The vibration beneath me and the wind blowing across my face were all such familiar things, that I decided not to go directly home. A ride was just what I needed to soothe my soul, and that is how I found myself on the windy mountain road down to Helen, Georgia. I didn’t bother stopping, shopping, or eating while I drove through. Instead, I just turned around on the tail end of the town, and began to wind my way back up the mountain, and towards home. The twists and turns in the road, along with the other idiot drivers, kept my attention focused on the task at hand so my mind didn’t have a chance to drift to everything else it had been so bogged down with lately. By the time I was almost back, I figured I had better stop in at the garage and make sure the guys still had everything covered. Technically, I should have still been in Vegas, but since I was here, I felt obligated. It was my business, after all.
As I pulled up I noticed the old Harley Panhead in the parking lot. It was a classic, and a thing of beauty that would have had my father drooling over it were he still alive. The man may never have gone the route of the MC lifestyle, but he was definitely a born and bred Harley enthusiast. “Whose bike?” I asked John, our young apprentice mechanic as he was headed to his truck. He turned and gave me a squirrely look. “What?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Shouldn’t you know since you’re apparently married to the guy?” His laughter was full on now. “Or did he buy it without permission?” John clapped a hand to his thigh. “I wonder which one of you will throw the other over their knee for a spankin’?”
“Do you like your job?” I deadpanned, which shut him up immediately.
“Sorry, JoJo. I was just teasin’.”
“Yeah, yeah!” I waved him off. “Get out of here before I make you scrub the bays down.” He wasted no time in doing just that. I was kind of glad Steel had shown up because while I was driving back, it occurred to me that he had the only copy of our marriage certificate, and I was going to need that, along with the video, for the lawyers.
I walked into the garage, and I was surprised to see Steel’s Kutte slung over my chair in the office. Then I looked down on the bays and saw his beautifully muscular frame bent over the engine of the 1957 Buick Century Convertible that Chuck had taken in before I left for Vegas. She was a thing of beauty on the outside with a butter-yellow paint job and chrome detailing. Her insides were problematic, at best, though. I wasn’t certain Chuck had the know-how to pull off the repairs, but I promised the owner I would step in and take a look if it wasn’t done before I got back to town. Lucky for me, the owner was a woman, and a Yankee transplant to boot, so she didn’t bat an eye at a female mechanic offering to check the work.
From where I was standing, watching Steel bent over the engine as his muscles flowed against the thin material of the white wife-beater style tank he had on, it appeared he was showing Chuck a thing or two about the classic car’s engine. I dropped my backpack purse in the lockable drawer of my desk, secured it, and hit the stairs to the garage bays below. Both Chuck and Steel turned in my direction as I came down the slightly rusted metal stairs.
“Hey, hey, Cynthia-Jo! I hear congratulations are in order, girly!” Chuck beamed a bright, genuine smile my way. “If I’d known you were headed to Vegas to get hitched, I would have sprung for the trip too.” He looked beyond serious then when he added, “I could have stood up for you since your daddy isn’t here to do it.”
Holy Hell! That man. This is why my dad kept him around so long, and I was loathe to let him go. He was such a good soul. I sniffed back the emotion that threatened to overflow from me in embarrassing ways, and smiled over at him. “Sorry, Chuck! My girl’s weekend got hijacked, and shit happened. I would have invited you if it was planned.” Probably. Okay, I felt like a real asshole in my head, because I never would have thought about it, considering the reason for the marriage. Thankfully, he seemed placated by my words so I didn’t have to feel too horrible for the unintentional oversight.
“Your daddy would be proud, knowing you settled down with a man who knows what he’s doing under the hood.” Okay, Chuck was totally talking cars, but I was sporting a furious blush as I remembered how it felt to have Steel under my hood last night, revving my motor. The smirk plastered across his smug face told me he knew why I was blushing too. Chuck caught on and laughed. “Well, now, I was talking cars young lady!” He fake admonished me for my dirty thoughts. “Your man here just solved the puzzle of this engine’s sputtering for me though. Damn fine job.”
“Great! Can we fix it and call Mrs. Dumas then?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. I have to special order parts since she’s a classic. If I can’t find what we need, we need to think about fabricating something from the original parts we have.” Chuck was back under the hood as his sentence trailed off. Great! This was why we didn’t take on a lot of the classics, even though I would love to work on nothing but. They were generally huge time sinks when we needed the steady up-front money from normal repairs and maintenance.
Steel moved away from the Buick towards me. “Can we go somewhere to talk?” He asked as he picked up a red and black and flannel shirt off a nearby work bench and slung it over his shoulder.
“Sure, let’s go up to the office.” I told him before projecting my voice out to Chuck. “Why don’t you knock off for today, Chuck? John’s already gone and the Buick will keep until tomorrow.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart.” Chuck intoned kindly as he carefully lowered the Buick’s hood. Steel bristled a little at the endearment Chuck used, and I took note of it.
“You’re in the south now, Steel. Every woman is sweetheart, sugar, honey, or darlin’.” He just smiled and shook his head as I led the way to the stairs.
“Oh, hey, Cynthia-Jo?” Chuck called out. I turned half way up the stairs and caught Steel’s gaze locked on my ass. It was my turn to smirk before Chuck’s words ruined the moment. “CJ is in town, and he was looking for you. I think he intended to try to push the takeover now while he’s between shows.” Chuck laughed. “I guess the joke will be on him once he finds out.” Chuck motioned between Steel and I.
“Yeah, well, let’s not spread the word just yet. I’d rather Mr. Alexander tell him the happy news.” With that Chuck ‘yes ma’amed’ me and took off while Steel
and I finished our ascent to the office.
“I’m sorry about Quickshot pulling that shit today.” Steel offered up the apology before the door was even shut. “We had words about his bullshit interference. I told him if he continued to try that shit on this I would give up my Aces High Kutte and see about joining your club.” He said the last with a wink.
“You did not!”
“I assure you, I did. I’m a grown man. My decisions are just that. Mine. Marrying you only benefits the club, because I have access to the garage as long as you’re willing to share. I’ll still pay a percentage of repair bills over to you for use of the space, of course.
“I don’t see a problem with that,” I offered honestly.
“So who is this CJ that Chuck just mentioned? Did I have competition?” He laughed then. “Other than Chuck…”
“Christ,” I muttered. “Who told you about Chuck?” I didn’t think he’d caught on to the fact that Chuck had actually offered to marry me the last time Steel was in the garage.
“He did, of course. The man was mighty disappointed he wouldn’t get to marry you himself.” We both laughed at that.
“Another reason to be grateful for your offer. CJ is my brother. The one that wants to sell this place.”
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Just the one. He’s trying to make it on Broadway. He’s actually been pretty successful off Broadway, but the lulls between parts have him scrambling for cash and waiting tables in between. If he sold this place, and didn’t bother sharing the profits – which was his intent – then he could afford a house outside the city or fund his current living situation a little longer without the need of a regular job.”
“And it means nothing to him that this is your job, and your livelihood?”
“Sadly, no, it doesn’t. I’m not sure why CJ turned out to be the selfish bastard he is, but he did.” I tossed my shoulders up in a quick shrug. “If you’re still on board with this whole marriage thing, I’ll take the marriage certificate and video to Mr. Alexander, the lawyer, in the morning.”
Steel seemed confused for a minute. “Why wouldn’t I be on board with it?”
I shrugged again and tried to hide my embarrassment. “I don’t know. You were avoiding me this morning and then there’s Sweet not wanting you to do this, and him making Quickshot step in this morning to keep us from talking. I just want you to be sure that you want to do this, since it seems like a bit of trouble for you.”
“I told you I was sorry about Quick’s behavior. I didn’t even think about the fact that it was a directive from Sweet, so I will be addressing him in person when he gets back. That shit should not have happened. As for me avoiding you, I just didn’t know where you stood this morning. I actually thought you might join me in the shower, but you didn’t and then you ran in when I got out. I kind of took the hint and thought you regretted our time spent together last night.”
“Well, shit. For two people who agreed to be blunt and honest, we got our signals all mixed up, huh?” He laughed with me then.
“I’m going to chalk this up to the strangeness of the situation,” he glanced around the office then. “So, do you live here, or at your clubhouse?”
“No. I have a room at the club, but I’m rarely there overnight. I bought a little fixer-upper just up the road. I planned on just fixing it and flipping it. Until that happens, I am living in it.
His eyes lit up as I spoke. “Oh yeah? I could help you. I’m an excellent carpenter, and not too shabby with brick and block work if you need any.”
My smile warmed as I spoke. “Do you want to see the place?” As I asked the question, my stomach joined the conversation. “I could make us something to eat there. I don’t think the vending machines here will hit the spot at this point.”
“I’d love to see it. Besides, it’s probably more comfortable than talking here.”
“Yeah, okay. You can just follow behind me then.” I moved to leave, after grabbing my purse, but his hand reached out and took hold of my arm to stop me.
“Wait, before anything else pops up, what’s your number?” I rattled off my digits and he shot me a text with his number to be sure I had it.
“Just remember cell service is shotty around here.”
“I’m used to that, actually. I spent a lot of time in secluded locations up north.”
When we got to our bikes after locking up, I nodded to his. “My dad would have been fawning all over your Panhead.”
“Yeah?” He smiled widely as he let her flood a bit with gas. “She’s a beauty. Belonged to my dad for years. When he had to give up riding as much because of his bum leg, he passed her on to me. He has a weekend warrior bike now,” he tossed in at the end with a chuckle.
“Sorry to hear about your dad’s leg.”
“I’m not!” He laughed. “I got the bike, and besides, he’s still flying helos and small jets for the club, when needed, so he gets to keep an active patch.”
“Oh, wow. I’d like to hear more about that sometime. I bet flying in a helicopter is an experience.”
“Never been?”
“Nope. This trip to Vegas was actually my first time in an plane too.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’ve been a homebody, always taking care of my dad, working, or going to school. Never had time to travel beyond where I could get on two or four wheels.” With that I started up my engine, and walked my bike backwards a bit before I had the clearance to toss her in gear and take off. Steel kicked his bike to start it and the rumble it emitted immediately was something an enthusiast would be proud of. He kept up and followed me all the way to my house, where a rental car sat idling in the driveway.
I was barely off my bike before the car door was flung open and my drama queen of a brother came flying out. “Where have you been?” I had to stay in the Sierra High Budget Inn last night, because you never came home and didn’t answer your phone.” My brother was in my face, yelling like a damn lunatic, which is probably what triggered Steel to step forward, grab my brother by his scruff like a dog and fling him backwards away from me. “Agh,” my brother screamed out as he stumbled back into the side of his rental. “What in the hell? JoJo you better call your damn dog off.”
“I would if you weren’t being a jerk.” CJ attempted to move in close again only to be stopped by a giant palm to his chest.
“I don’t know who you are, but if you get in JoJo’s face like that one more time, you’ll be missing teeth before you’re tossed away again.”
“Who the hell are you? This is between me and my sister. Our business isn’t any of yours.” CJ complained in his usually whiny manner.
“Considering I’m married to her, I do believe that makes it my business too.”
CJ’s jaw was hanging so low, I could see his tonsils if I really cared to look. “No,” he finally managed to hiss out.
“Yes, CJ. I have a marriage certificate, and video of the ceremony to prove it too. We were married last night, so you might as well pack up and get back to New York. Besides, Chuck told me why you’re here. Did you honestly think I’d let you crash at my home while you’re trying to steal the family business and sell it off, leaving me with no job or money to pay for the house you invited yourself to?”
“Dad’s house was sold. Where else am I supposed to stay when I come home?”
“I don’t know, but not here.”
“Jo, we’re family,” he whined again.
“I’ll tell you what, when you start acting like family of mine, I will be happy to treat you as such. For now, I’m tired. Steel and I have things to do, so you need to get out of here. Actually, I’ll be happy to meet you at Mr. Alexander’s office in the morning. I have an appointment set for ten.”
“I’m sure the wedding is bullshit.” He turned to plead his case to Steel then. “You know she has to stay married at least five years to keep the business, right?” My brother asked, with a knowing smile. Apparently, he assumed I
hadn’t been up front about anything.
“I’m well aware,” Steel replied to him.
“And you’re okay giving up five years for that?” My brother’s incredulous tone and finger pointing were really pissing me off.
Steel glanced my way. “I’m sure JoJo and I will make do with one another just fine.” There was a the smallest of smirks on Steel’s face as he looked at me while he spoke. “You sister asked you to leave though, and I think that would be wise. As she said, we have things to do. We’d only keep you up with all the noise if you stuck around.”
My brother’s disgusted face turned to me. “So, you’re really going to whore yourself out for the business, huh? I’m sure Dad would be rolling over in his grave right now if he could see this desperate attempt at keeping the garage.”
“Too bad you don’t get to speak for Daddy from the grave. You weren’t around when he needed you to be, so you wouldn’t actually know what he wanted for me. Now, get off my property before I call to order you an official escort out of here. I’m pretty sure the local jail will be just as accommodating to trespassers as the Budget Inn is to paying customers.
“You turned out to be a bigger bitch than I thought,” CJ spat my way.
“Well, at least I’m not the biggest twat waffle on the East Coast,” I tossed back. Steel’s eyebrow quirked up and he bit down on his bottom lip to help hold in his laughter. My brother finally crawled into his car and left.
“It must suck to have a sibling you can’t get along with.”
“It really does. I wish he could understand, or more to the point, cared at all about anything other than himself. It hurts my heart to know he’s being like this.”
“Come on, let’s get inside before these bugs continue to eat me alive.” As if to bring home his point, Steel smacked his own forearm.
JoJo (S.H.E Book 2) Page 6